Another busy legislative season that was highlighted by the adoption of a new funding stream for species conservation projects, including for wild steelhead
Last month, the Oregon legislature concluded its 2026 “short session.” Trout Unlimited and partners held the line against some counterproductive proposals, and we’re proud to have supported a large coalition effort that resulted in an extraordinary new funding stream for species conservation projects. Here’s our recap.
1.25% for Wildlife: Celebrating New Revenue for Species Conservation!!
This session, the Legislature established a tremendous new funding stream for Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s (ODFW) conservation efforts, which will generate approximately $60 million per biennium for the agency’s on-the-ground efforts in addition to existing funding levels!!
Governor Tina Kotek signed “1.25% for Wildlife” (House Bill 4134) on April 9, 2026. This legislation nominally increases the transient lodging tax (TLT) rate in Oregon by 1.25% and directs most of the revenues to ODFW for implementing the state’s species conservation plan. For instance, a $200 hotel stay would cost an extra $2.50, which would go into a special state fund for conserving and restoring native species (both game and non-game) and important landscapes.
TU supported the bill, and we participated with both environmental and hunting and fishing coalitions in helping to engage legislators on the measure. We greatly appreciate chief lead sponsor Representative Ken Helm who led the charge on this concept amongst legislators across multiple sessions, as well as coalition leaders from Oregon Hunters Association, Oregon Wild, Defenders of Wildlife, and Western Environmental Law Center who tirelessly advocated for the legislation. An important—and very exciting—next step for stakeholders, the public, and ODFW will be to identify the projects and opportunities to fund with this new revenue stream. TU intends to advocate for a suite of projects and initiatives to restore healthy habitats and fish populations, especially for wild steelhead.
Salmon Credit (i.e., Developing Oregon’s Waterways)
For the fourth time in nearly as many years, the Legislature considered a waterway development proposal with the catchy—but misleading—name “Salmon Credit.” TU and partners again opposed and killed the proposal.
Senate Bill 1584 would have required the State of Oregon to establish a program that allows developers to destroy functioning habitat in one place and attempt to offset that loss in another area—potentially an entirely different watershed—by creating new habitat from whole cloth. The bill did not require a net increase in habitat (i.e., more than 1:1 mitigation).
A key component of the bill was the establishment of a “Salmon Credit Trust Fund” that developers would pay into, with dividends from the Fund going to landowners hosting a related project on their land. Development mitigation programs already exist under Oregon law, and state agencies have raised important concerns about the feasibility of implementing this different proposed approach over the years.
Advocates for the bill argued that it would’ve established important financial incentives for landowners to allow restoration projects on their land. Trout Unlimited shares an interest in seeing more good projects on private property, but we believe that there are other mechanisms and opportunities for incentivizing that important work, rather than creating this complicated, untested, and expensive new program with no demonstrable demand from developers. (Read TU’s written testimony here.)
Water Law Exemptions for Mid-Columbia Irrigators
House Bill 4006 would have exempted just one group of irrigators in eastern Oregon from a suite of important water laws. TU opposed the bill alongside water policy conservation advocates including WaterWatch of Oregon, and the bill died in Committee.
HB 4006 would have allowed the Mid-Columbia Water Commission—a large water right holder near Pendleton—to change their points of diversion (e.g., canal headgate location), places of use (e.g., farm field location), and type of use (e.g., irrigation, municipal) without applying to the State or needing approval from state water managers. This would have been a tremendous departure from the norms and created a notable one-off exemption in the water code, while also materially diminishing the role of Oregon Water Resources Department (WRD) in managing this important shared resource.
As TU testified in opposition to the bill, the concept would have exempted only one water right holder from laws that ensure equitable and evenhanded distribution of water. Under Oregon law, all water is owned by the public; water right holders just have a legal right to use it. The principles of this bill conflicted with that fundamental concept by almost entirely removing WRD from the processes of regulating and managing a single water user.
We expect this concept to be back in future legislative sessions, and we’ll be carefully monitoring it.
Budget: Natural Resource Agencies and Umpqua Basin Hatcheries
Agency biennial budgets are crafted in odd-year long sessions in Oregon, but there are always budget matters to address during short sessions (e.g., agency budget clean-up, corrections, emergencies, pressing issues that cannot wait a year, etc.). In the run-up to the 2026 session, many folks who engage with the Oregon Legislature were anxious that natural resource agencies would be forced to make painful budget cuts, but TU and allies were successful in insulating agencies from most of these reductions.
Oregon’s 14 natural resource agencies receive only about 2.5 percent of the state’s General Fund and Lottery Fund dollars, meaning that budget reductions of only a few percentage points can be quite disruptive to agencies like the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) and WRD, while not resulting in material cash savings for the State.
TU and allies in the Oregon Water Partnership advocated that the Legislature’s budget writers spare natural resource agencies from budget cuts that would impede good water management and proactive conservation efforts, and were successful in protecting against harmful reductions to those programs. We also urged that the Legislature ensure continued full funding for Private Forest Accord (PFA) programs at ODFW and Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). Here too, TU and partner groups on PFA efforts (such as Wild Salmon Center and timber industry representatives) were successful in defending the funds appropriated to PFA efforts for the 2025-2027 biennium.
The 2026 session included discussions about whether ODFW should rebuild Rock Creek Hatchery in the North Umpqua watershed (one of TU’s Priority Waters). This facility burned down almost entirely in the 2020 Archie Creek Fire, and ODFW has not yet decided how to spend the insurance proceeds, or related Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dollars, for that loss. During the 2025 legislative session, the Legislature directed ODFW to provide a report on potential post-fire hatchery operations in the Umpqua.
Earlier this year, the agency submitted its analysis of options and general costs for rebuilding Rock Creek Hatchery infrastructure or otherwise replacing its production capacity. The agency’s report states that a full-rebuild of Rock Creek Hatchery would be “cost prohibitive . . . less likely to meet temperature requirements . . . overly reliant on costly and complex mechanical systems . . . and more vulnerable to future natural disasters.” TU agrees; we oppose a full rebuild of Rock Creek Hatchery and will continue participating in discussions with fish managers and policymakers as the State decides on next steps.
Summary
TU spent the 2026 session speaking up for the best interests of Oregon’s rivers and fish. Many thanks to the TU members, supporters, and partners who helped with our advocacy!
In 2027, the Oregon legislature will hold a “long session” that deals with a huge number of policy proposals and crafts agency budgets for 2027-2029. TU will be engaged and we encourage you to reach out to us with questions or if you’re interested in supporting our efforts.
James Fraser is TU’s Oregon Policy Director and can be reached at james.fraser@tu.org